Article on Open Textbooks in USA Today

USA Today published an article on Friday, July 11, entitled "Online "open" textbooks save students cash". Written by Svetlana Shkolnikova, it's a pretty good overview of the problem and some of the ways it's being addressed. For example, the article says: "Textbook prices have outpaced inflation 2-to-1 in the past two decades, says a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office. They account for 26% of tuition and fees at four-year public universities and nearly three-quarters of costs at community colleges, the GAO says". It goes on to discuss a few initiatives in the open education space, some of whom we've had contacts with, like Foothill Community College and maketextbooksaffordable.com

Two authors who contributed books to the Global Text library are mentioned: Bob Beezer and Rob Stewart. It's a good overview and another indication that the problem of ever-more-costly textbooks is getting more attention and that solutions like Global Text can make a real contribution.

- Don

As Textbook Costs Are Customized, Students Pay

That's the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal on July 10th. Here's the way the article, by John Hechinger, begins:

"College students, already struggling with soaring tuition bills and expenses, are encountering yet another financial hit: Publishers and schools are working together to produce "custom" textbooks that can limit students' use of the money-saving trade in used books. And in a controversial twist, some academic departments are sharing in the profits from these texts.

"The University of Alabama, for instance, requires freshman composition students at its main campus to buy a $59.35 writing textbook titled "A Writer's Reference," by Diana Hacker.

"The spiral-bound book is nearly identical to the same "A Writer's Reference" that goes for $30 in the used-book market and costs about $54 new. The only difference in the Alabama version: a 32-page section describing the school's writing program -- which is available for free on the university's Web site. This version also has the University of Alabama's name printed across the top of the front cover, and a notice on the back that reads: "This book may not be bought or sold used."

"Custom textbooks like this one are proliferating on U.S. college campuses, guaranteeing hefty sales for publishers -- and payments to colleges that are generally undisclosed to students."

The entire article is worth a read. The writer is well-informed on the issues, including legislative actions being taken by some 34 states in the US to reduce the cost of textbooks. He also questions the ethics of this growing cozy accommodation between universities and publishers by noting that "The book-royalty arrangements resemble a practice exposed during last year's student-loan scandal, when some universities steered students to particular lending firms and received a secret cut of the loans.

Gotta shake your head.

- Don